Seven new cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the UK, including the first case in Northern Ireland.

The new cases involve three children and two adults from London, one adult from the east of England and a man from Northern Ireland.

Four of these cases are linked to previously confirmed cases and the other two are returning travellers.

A Department of Health spokesman said there were now 78 confirmed cases in the UK.

The spokesman added: "So far, all infections in the UK have been mild, and cases have been diagnosed and treated early.

"This reduces the severity of symptoms, and helps to limit the spread."

The latest figures from the HPA show 314 possible swine flu cases are being investigated in its laboratories.

'Recovering well'

The first Northern Ireland case is a man from County Antrim who had been on a two-week holiday to Mexico with his wife and children.

He is recovering well at home, officials say.

The head of the Public Health Agency, Dr Eddie Rooney, said 25 people who had been in close contact with him were being given the antiviral Tamiflu.

Meanwhile, the Scottish government hopes to stockpile enough supplies of any new swine flu vaccine to protect the entire population.

Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon told Holyrood that she and her counterparts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland aimed to secure enough supplies to allow vaccination of the entire UK population against swine flu.

There have been five confirmed cases in Scotland.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is advising those who develop symptoms within seven days of returning from an affected area to stay at home and contact their GP, NHS Direct or NHS 24 in Scotland.

The same applies to those who have been in contact with someone who is suspected to have contracted the virus.

The HPA also updated its advice to schools to ask them to consider closing temporarily for a week when a pupil is diagnosed with swine flu to minimise the risk of the virus spreading.